Predisposing factors in anaphylactoid reactions to anaesthetic drugs in an Australian population: the role of allergy, atopy and previous anaesthesia.

One thousand patients undergoing anaesthesia in an Australian hospital were assessed by questionnaire to determine the incidence of previous anaesthesia, allergy and atopy. The patients were compared with a British group and with 85 patients who had life-threatening anaphylactoid reactions. The Australian and British groups were not significantly different. The Australian patients who had reactions showed a higher incidence of allergy, atopy, asthma and previous adverse reactions than the general population. The incidence was higher in females than males. Although the incidence is higher in the group of patients who reacted, the incidence is not sufficiently great to make pretreatment of patients with a history of allergy or atopy a reasonable prophylactic manoeuvre.